As part of our celebration around the 2015 Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge, we're highlighting the stories of participating schools around the world. We've asked representatives from several schools to share with us how their school used the program to motivate students around reading. First up: Sarah E. Ozuem (CLN), School Librarian at the Greenoak International School in Nigeria. They ranked 454 out 6,229 participating schools!
How many students are at your school?
300 students.
Why did you register your class for the Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge?
To increase students' love for reading during school days and holiday.
What drew you to the program?
The web page for the challenge was kid-friendly, I wanted my students to be part of the world record breakers. I also needed something that will keep my students busy during the holidays.
How did you make sure your students were reading?
I made sure my students were reading by helping them locate resources that would stimulate their interest and expose them to various genres available in the library. I constantly reminded them that reading is important and motivated them to read more. My students are also made to report on the books read.
Do you set aside independent reading time during the school day and/or encourage students to read at home?
Students are given research periods in the library which encourage them for independent reading.
What are your students reading? Could you give us examples of some of the book titles, authors, or topics they love?
Graphic Novels, Diaries, Crime, Adventures, Mystery, Horror, classic, etc…
Some example titles are: Diary of a Wimpy Kid Series, Dear Dumb Diary Series, Harry Potter Series, Dork Diaries, Percy Jackson & the Olympians Series, Divergent Trilogy, House of Night Series, Beast Quest, Puffin Classic Series, Collins Classic Series, African Writer Series, Carter House Girls Series, and other Melody Carlson Series, Princess Diaries, Ally Carter Books, Richelle Mead books, Alyxandra Harvey Series, Robert Muchamore Book Series, Scholastic short stories books, etc.
Your school ranked 454 our ot 6,229! How do you plan to celebrate your school’s success?
I hope to celebrate those students who made us proud in the competition with certificates during our school’s general assembly. We also have colourful posters announcing our success with Scholastic Summer Reading Challenge displayed on our school notice board for all to see.
image via Sarah E. Ozuem.
